Call For Redemption
by inmate23
Summary: Dembe has had enough of secret keeping and seeing Raymond and Elizabeth suffer and decides to try and help them save what's left of their relationship. S6 spoilers
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Based on spoilers and written before the latest two episodes aired. Thank you for reading. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this. If it works or not and if I should add more chapters:)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Blacklist or any of its recognizable characters. No copyright infringement intended.

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"Elizabeth he knows."

"Dembe?" She asked in surprise. When she answered the phone still drowsy from sleep, she forgot to check the caller. She moved up in bed, resting her back against the headboard. She breathed carefully, trying not to panic at hearing what Dembe was about to tell her.

"He listened to the tape and wants me to find the person who betrayed him." Dembe replied.

"Oh?" She managed, hoping she sounded indifferent but inside she was terrified.

"The voice is of a woman who is unknown to him but based on the very specific information given to the authorities, that only few people knew, he suspects you as the one who arranged the anonymous tip off. He suspected you from the start."

"Why would he think..." she trailed off. Of course he would have found out, it was only a matter of time before he connected the dots and suspected her.

"I told him it could not be you who has sent him on the path to the death penalty. But he would not hear any of it. He said you wanted him out of the way, so that you can investigate him freely, to find out his secrets on your own."

"Dembe, I..."

"Is it true, Elizabeth?"

"I..." She couldn't speak further.

"You must go to him tomorrow morning and explain." He said adamantly.

"I can't... " she finally broke down, "I just wanted... I wanted to know why... why he keeps the truth from me. Why he lied to me."

"Raymond did not lie... he told you that he has a secret, that he needs to keep."

"He's not Raymond Reddington! How does he keep that from me? He's not my father! He's an impostor! All this time, he's kept that from me!"

"He had a reason to keep his identity hidden, even from you. He wanted to tell you many times in the past but he couldn't. Because it was too dangerous. Because you knowing his true identity would jeopardize our mission."

"What are you talking about? What mission?" Now she was confused.

He ignored her questions and said, "Have you ever asked him directly if he was your father?"

"Yes." She remembered the first time, after Anslo Garrick incursion and his prolonged disappearance, that difficult time when all that was left of him, was his blood as evidence of his torture and when she didn't know for weeks if he was still alive.

The same weeks she also spent dreading to find out the results of the test on a DNA sample she took from his glass she swiped from that French restaurant in Montreal. Back then she wanted to know if what she suspected was true, because she was conflicted, because she started to have feelings.

She needed to know why he asked for her when he surrendered himself and gave up his freedom, why he seemed to stare at her with such feeling when they first met, why he got out of the box for her and not for Luli, or for Dembe. She needed to know why she was so important to him but when the envelope arrived, she was too scared to open it.

And then when he suddenly called and she thought she might never have another chance to find out, she asked him if he was her father and he said no. She believed him then and a few times after that when he denied it but when Cooper presented the new DNA result it made her doubt everything again. She wasn't sure what was real, what was true anymore. Tom Keen wasn't real, he was an impostor she married, a fantasy. She thought she had something real, a connection with Raymond Reddington but he turned out to be just another impostor.

He wasn't revealing his true motivations regarding her and she desperately needed to know why. But the cost of her search for answers turned out to be too dangerous and it seemed too late to change course.

"Ask him again." Dembe said.

"Why are you warning me, why not kill me right now? Why do you still trust me, Dembe?"

"Because even though you betrayed him, again, he wouldn't want me to, because he cares too much and I care about you, both of you."

"But why? Why does he care? He is not my father and I betrayed him and you. Why do you care about that man so much? How can you trust some pretender?"

"I care because he saved my life, repeatedly and I have saved his repeatedly. You and I share that, I think. And the past tragedy. He has saved us both."

"What do you mean?"

"Ask him if he has the burns on his back. He will tell you. He won't lie to you."

"What?! He has burns? The night of the fire. Oh my God!" She placed her hand on her mouth in shock. "He was the man on the floor." She suddenly realized what Dr Orchard was trying to tell her after her memory extraction. __The people and the events may have been there but in different roles.__

"I shot my father and Red burned in the fire! But how did he survive? How did I survive? Did he tell you?"

"It is not for me to tell you. Go to him before it's too late and ask him. Talk to him. You may be surprised with what you learn."

"I'm so sorry, Dembe. I know right now that my words don't mean much and you have every right not to believe me... but I never... I didn't mean for it to go this far... You should hate me. He should hate me. I hate myself. What I've become, this thing. A monster."

__Maybe someday, if you're very lucky, you might wonder, at exactly what point did I become... this thing. __It's ironic that the impostor known as Red was right when he said that to her, years ago.

"You need to see him soon and explain, I am certain that eventualy he will understand. He knows you were determined to find out his secrets, he expected it from you, one way, or another."

He expected her to betray him? But of course it wouldn't be the first time and he must be used to being surrounded by Judases. She felt sick at the thought of finding out that she's too far gone and that this time he may never forgive her. "I don't think I can bear to see him now. The hate and disappointment in his eyes." She replied sorrowfully.

"But you must. Whatever he may think right now, or say to you, deep down he can never hate you, he still cares and needs you. You need to have an honest talk, mend your relationship before it's too late. I will come for you tomorrow morning and drive you to visit him."

"Thank you, Dembe. You are a kind man and a wonderful friend. I don't deserve such kindness."

"Raymond thinks he doesn't deserve it either. Another thing you have in common. See you tomorrow. I will call you when I arrive. Be ready."

"I will. Thank you again." The call ended and Liz absently dropped the phone on her bed and stared at the wall ahead, not being able to fall asleep again. She was dreading to see the light of dawn too soon and the call that would bring her face to face with the man whose real name she did not know but she loved all the same.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks to those of you who took the time to comment. Sorry for the long wait for an update. There should be one, or two more chapters after this. As always if you have time, let me know what you think, good or bad. Thanks for reading.

**Summary:** Mostly a set up for the next chapter. This story can be placed canonicaly early in S6 but will contain some spoilers for the rest of the season.

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Liz didn't know how long she stared at the wall in her room, in complete darkness. Usually she preferred the blinds down and curtains drawn to leave her room in complete darkness before sleep, because it gave her a strange sense of comfort but after the call with Dembe ended, she felt unsettled, suffocated. So she gave up on trying to sleep, put on her robe and pulled away the blinds and opened the window, which looked on to the east.

It was times like these, when the world was still waking up, that she was thinking about her precious little girl and worrying if she was safe and happy and wondering if she'll ever see her for good.

She decided to call the girl's grandmother, once an enemy but thanks to the little girl, an ally at least.

"Hello? Who is this? Do you have any idea what time it is?" The angry voice of Scottie Hargrave greeted her on the other line.

"It's Liz." She responded, stopping the lecture that was bound to resume.

"Liz?"

"Yeah, sorry to wake you." She said sheepishly.

"Liz? What's wrong?" The voice turned seriously worried.

"I just wanted to know if our deal for the weekend still stands, for Agnes?" For months now, she's been visiting Agnes in various undisclosed locations, spending quality time with her, getting to know her. She has lost so much time with her daughter, watching her grow up, what with the constant danger, her job, the coma and plenty of poor decisions on her part. When she realized how twisted she became, how wrong she was and how selfish it was of her to focus on her anger, on revenge for a dead man, a husband who cared more about his job, who craved danger and probably never loved her or his daughter. It took a while but the bubble of cognitive disonance punctured, when the harsh reality beat the fantasy. Since the beginning, when Reddington came into her life, her quest was for the answers about her past, her parents, not revenge. No, that was impostor Tom Keen's dying wish. Even his ghost managed to manipulate her. She broke down as she realized this and all that time that was wasted, the time lost, that should've been spent with her little girl.

She was angry at Tom for succesfully fooling her, making her lose control again and then when she realized this, it was too late to confront him, because he was dead.

"Oh, of course. Everything is arranged." When Liz didn't continue but the silence stretched into several minutes, Scottie said, "Liz, I know we aren't friends, we're hardly family anymore but for the sake of Agnes, I hope you don't mind me asking, what's made you call this late? Is this because of the news on Reddington?"

"News? What news?" Liz asked confused.

"You don't know? I thought you'd at least be aware?"

"What's going on?"

"Turn on the news. It's on every channel by now. Listen, I have to go, Liz. I will call you again about, Agnes."

"Yeah, thank you." She responded distractedly, determined to find out what was going on. She turned on the TV and the first image she saw was of him, his old photograph on the FBI's Most Wanted List, so she rewinded the news to the beginning just as the well dressed anchorman started talking with a grave voice.

_We begin tonight with a developing story. Notorious fugitive Raymond Reddington, also known as The Concierge of Crime, is once again on the loose after a daring escape from federal custody. Moments ago a Justice Department official issued the following statement: After collapsing in his cell earlier today, prison officials were transporting Raymond Reddington to a nearby hospital for observation. While en route, Reddington overtook two EMTs and a heavily armed prison escort. Reddington who according to our reliable sources was very likely going to be sentenced to death by lethal injection in a few weeks time, has due to his escape once again been placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List. _

She should've known. Of course he had a plan, ever since he came into her life, the man known as Raymond Reddington always had a plan and always seemed to be at least five steps ahead of all of them. So naturaly he didn't plan to wait on the final outcome of his trial but used up his time in prison to meticulously plan his escape.

There was still a few hours till she had to be up for work but she sent a quick text to Cooper, asking for a day off due to family emergency and then she checked her call records and dialed the last number, hoping it wasn't changed yet.

"Elizabeth? Is everything alright?" Dembe's voice answered urgently.

"Is he with you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"What do you mean?"

"The escape, you didn't tell me, he didn't mention it. I just saw it on the news."

"I think it's best you ask Raymond yourself." He said simply.

"You will still take me to him?"

"Yes, he wishes to speak with you."

"Is he okay? They said on the news he collapsed in his cell. I mean he wasn't really hurt?"

"He is tired but otherwise quite well."

"Good. Will you come for me? I know it's late- er, early but as soon as he's settled?"

"Yes. I will come for you."

"Thank you, Dembe. I'm glad he's okay."

"As am I, Elizabeth. I will see you in a few hours. Try to get some rest."

Easier said than done, she thought and as soon as Dembe hung up, her phone buzzed and she remembered she set it on vibrate as she tried to get some sleep.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Agent Keen," AD Cooper spoke up, "your day off has been approved to deal with your sudden.. family emergency. I hope you will let us know if we can help you during this trying time. Elizabeth, in case you need more time, or if there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Liz frowned momentarily confused at what he said, until she remembered she sent a quick text to Cooper as soon as she saw the news. Of course, Cooper knew her family emergency was code for Reddington.

"Thank you, Sir. Kind of you to offer. I will be in touch." She said and ended the call.

After catching up on most of the news reports that covered Reddington's escape in various degrees of detail and exaggeration, Liz couldn't fall asleep again so she she did something she hadn't done in what felt like eternity – she took out the old white board, she used to use for cases and started charting back 6 years she spent with Red, wrote down all the things she remembered him saying, the clues, the Blacklisters he gave them.

_"Everything about me is a lie." _It was all there, right from the beginning he was trying to tell her he was an impostor but couldn't outright admit it. And he said he was there because of her father.

_"I'm fascinated. Ho close to the truth do you think you can really get?"_

He wanted her to figure it out, figure him out and wanted her to know him, the real him.

_"Tell me my profile."_

Some profiler she turned out to be. That was a complete failure. She shook her head. Time to start from the beginning, a real profile and for that she needed to go straight to the source. It was going to be another couple of hours until Dembe stopped by and took her to him.


End file.
